Chapter 955: Chapter 955: Feasts and Revelry
Hogwarts had resumed classes, and the very first day back was already devoted to exam prep.
To be honest, for a brief moment, when the owls delivered the news to every young wizard’s home, the surge of collective resentment almost drowned out the joy of having defeated Voldemort.
To the students, Voldemort was terrifying—but those multi-foot-long homework assignments were even more horrifying.
Especially for the fifth- and seventh-years.
"We defeated... Voldemort," Ron grumbled in the Great Hall. "Can’t results that impressive earn us an ’O’ on our N.E.W.T. reports?"
Though his voice lacked conviction, Ron did manage to say Voldemort’s name in full.
That change made Harry genuinely happy. He’d always believed that to defeat Voldemort, one had to first conquer the fear of him.
Ron used to tremble just hearing the name—never mind saying it out loud.
So this was a welcome shift.
Of course, Harry was pleased, but that didn’t stop him from throwing cold water on Ron’s enthusiasm.
"Let’s be fair," he said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "We didn’t defeat Voldemort. Kyle and the professors did."
"Yeah, yeah, that’s true... but we were part of it too... showed a lot of courage..." Ron stretched his neck and began listing how many Death Eaters he’d taken down during the battle, and how many times he’d barely escaped with his life.
He made it sound thrilling, but Harry and Hermione looked completely uninterested.
Even Neville, who was usually the most supportive, turned his head away.
They’d already heard this story a dozen times over the past few days. At this point, Hermione could probably recite it from memory.
"Stop, Ron. We really don’t want to hear another word about your Death Eater stories," Hermione cut him off mercilessly.
"And I have to tell you, the decision to reopen the school was made jointly by Headmistress McGonagall, the Board of Governors, and the Ministry of Magic—and most of us support it."
"Oh, Harry, what did she just say?" Ron opened his mouth wide and let out a strangled cry. "Most people support it?
"Can’t she see she’s the only one here who does?"
Hermione’s expression grew steadily darker.
Harry wanted to be considerate of his friend’s feelings, but he just couldn’t bring himself to say something so blatantly false.
The others all turned their gazes elsewhere—only Ginny stood by Hermione’s side.
That probably had something to do with her being in sixth year. Sixth-years didn’t have any particularly crucial exams, and Ginny’s grades were solid enough that she wasn’t worried about finals—so whether school resumed or not didn’t really matter to her.
But none of that was important. The decision to reopen wasn’t up to the students. Even if they all voted against it, the Hogwarts Express still departed right on time and arrived at Hogsmeade Station that evening as scheduled.
Minerva McGonagall, who had been constantly busy these past few days, made a special trip back for the occasion, standing at the Great Hall entrance to greet the returning students.
In the crowd, one round figure stood out more than the rest.
Slughorn puffed up the stone steps, panting, and reached the Great Hall doors. "Minerva, what’s with the sudden decision to bring the students back?"
He’d only just gone home yesterday, and now he’d taken the train back with the students... Judging from the frosting still clinging to his collar, he’d probably booked out the dining car again.
He’d forgone the far more convenient method of Apparition, opting instead to take the full-day train ride with the students—proof enough that the Slughorn standing here was the real one, not someone disguised with Polyjuice Potion.
"The students should return to their studies, Horace," said Professor McGonagall with a glance.
"But that man—"
"Voldemort isn’t coming." She cut him off before he could finish. "We received reliable information before making the decision to reopen."
"There’s still a bit of time before the feast starts, Horace. I suggest you go change your clothes."
"Oh. Right..." Slughorn clearly hadn’t grasped the full meaning behind her words.
Why wouldn’t Voldemort come to Hogwarts? Had the Ministry learned something new? Had they found him? Why hadn’t anyone told him...
Slughorn wanted to ask more, but just then a crowd of students surged through the doors, and he was pushed along into the Great Hall.
Although the banquet had been put together quickly, it didn’t feel the least bit lackluster. Nearly all the professors were present, along with the likes of Bill Weasley, Oliver Wood, Cedric Diggory...
Each had played a notable role in the recent war and had been invited back as distinguished alumni.
Fred and George were there as well—but during the peak of the celebration, they spent over twenty minutes advertising Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, until Professor McGonagall, finally fed up, magically sealed their mouths shut.
But even so, their ridiculous pantomime had the whole hall roaring with laughter. Combined with the store logos flashing periodically on their chests, Fred and George quickly drew in a crowd of new customers.
Professor McGonagall turned a blind eye, pretending not to see any of it.
The banquet wasn’t just to welcome students back—it was also a celebration of their first true victory over Voldemort. Because of that, McGonagall extended everyone the greatest degree of leniency.
In fact, if Fred and George had been a bit quieter and stayed in one place, they probably wouldn’t have been magically silenced at all.
Spurred on by the Weasley twins, more people joined the revelry. After everything they’d been through, they needed this—a proper celebration to wash away the shadow Voldemort had cast.
Everyone was in high spirits. Cheers and laughter rolled like waves, nearly shaking loose the freshly repaired enchanted ceiling.
Well... everyone except Slytherin.
It was an odd sight in the Great Hall—three of the house tables were alive with chatter and celebration, while the Slytherin table was so quiet, it might as well have been a History of Magic lecture.
Slytherin also had the fewest students return. Nearly half the seats were empty—and many of those missing students had, whether openly or in secret, once supported Voldemort.
Of course, Professor McGonagall hadn’t excluded anyone based on rumors or assumptions. As long as a student hadn’t taken any direct action to harm their peers, she sent them an owl like anyone else.
As for those who didn’t return—whether they hadn’t received the letter, or stayed away for other reasons—no one could say for sure.
The remaining Slytherins, for one reason or another, kept to themselves. Too awkward or ashamed to join the celebration, they simply watched from the sidelines, deepening the uncomfortable atmosphere around their table.
Still, no one paid them much attention.
Everyone understood that just because Professor McGonagall chose to overlook it didn’t mean the rest of them could forget. Not a single Slytherin had joined the battle—and people remembered.
And had the war gone the other way, they were certain Slytherin would be celebrating even more wildly than anyone else.
The only reason no one had marched over to start a fight was because the professors were keeping a very close eye on things.
McGonagall personally intercepted five of the Weasleys’ magical fireworks aimed at the Slytherin table—including three of their infamous Dungbombs.
As the name implied, these fireworks exploded in a spray of "special" mud that splattered indiscriminately. It was labeled special because Fred and George had thoughtfully removed the stinkweed from the mix—knowing people still had to eat.
Otherwise, it would’ve been a turbo-charged Dungbomb.
Even this tamer version was confiscated without mercy. McGonagall would never allow Slytherin students to become the targets of everyone’s frustration.
Yes, some of them had made poor choices—but that didn’t mean all of them had, and it certainly didn’t define Slytherin as a whole.
Slughorn had been involved in the war from start to finish. So had Severus Snape. And Diana, the Unspeakable who had arrived later, was also a Slytherin alum...
In a very real sense, Slytherin had made its own contributions to the victory.
The banquet lasted longer than any Hogwarts feast before it. Trays of desserts, cookies, and little cakes kept coming, one after another.
And just when things were winding down, the surprise appearance of Minister of Magic Amelia Bones sent the excitement surging all over again.
It seemed she’d heard about the celebration and had come to make a brief appearance.
She didn’t stay long—just enough to eat a slice of cake and clink glasses of pumpkin juice with McGonagall—before taking her leave.
By the time the feast finally ended late into the night, the Great Hall was in complete disarray.
"That was brilliant... We should do this more often," Fred said, standing outside and clearly not ready for the night to end.
George, Kyle, Kanna, and Cedric stood with him—a small reunion back on Hogwarts grounds.
"Are you heading back or staying the night?" Kyle asked. "If you want to stay, I can have the house-elves bring some extra beds to my cabin."
"Forget it. We’re not staying in that shabby cabin," Fred replied, giving Kyle a deliberately dramatic look of disgust—though it was hard to tell if it was aimed at Kyle or the cabin itself.
"We’ve got more important things to do," said George, shaking the thick stack of parchment in his hands.
"These are all new orders we just picked up."
"The customers are already eager to receive their favorite products."
"We promised delivery by tomorrow."
"So tonight, we might be having another Christmas."
"At least a hundred owls will be needed to deliver all this."
They rubbed their temples, wearing expressions that were equal parts pained and delighted.
"In that case, why not use an Undetectable Extension Charm?" Kanna suggested, standing beside Kyle. "You could pack everything together first, then have people help deliver them to the customers.
"It shouldn’t be too hard for you. You already have a team. If you hired Ron, it’d only cost you two Galleons."
"Great idea," said Fred, "but it takes away a lot of the surprise."
"Surprise?"
"That moment of excitement when the little customers see an owl flying toward them," George explained. "That thrill is part of what they’re buying."
"Hmm... alright then."
Kanna didn’t quite understand how an owl delivery differed from Ron handing something over, but if they said it mattered—well, it must.
"And the most important reason we stick with owls..." Fred said mysteriously.
George caught on immediately. "Even if it only costs two Galleons, we’re not giving them to Ron."
"Hey!" They both flashed identical mischievous grins.
"Ron being your little brother really is karma," Kyle muttered, tugging at the corner of his mouth. He suspected that was the real reason behind it all.
"No, no, no—you’ve got it wrong. It’s luck," Fred corrected, wagging a finger.
"It’s special treatment from his older brothers," George said with mock solemnity. "You have to understand, for Ron, we’re willing to spend ten times as much."
"...Good thing Ron’s not here," Cedric couldn’t help adding. But by now, he was long used to the Weasleys’ unique brand of sibling affection.
And it seemed to be hereditary.
He still remembered when he first arrived at Hogwarts and Charlie had been training them as Beaters—using real Bludgers.
Normally, Beaters in their first training sessions would use bewitched Quaffles. But Charlie, faced with two first-years who weren’t even on the team, had pulled out actual Bludgers.
Apparently, Fred had even set the record for being knocked the farthest—nearly thirty feet.
Yes, Fred the Beater had been blasted thirty feet by a Bludger. And not only was he not upset, he bragged about it for ages afterward.
That, Cedric supposed, was just the Weasley way.
After Fred and George left, Kyle turned to Cedric.
"I’ve got to head back too," Cedric said with a shrug. "There’s still loads of work at the Ministry—I can’t leave it all to my dad. And I have to pick up Cho from St. Mungo’s first thing tomorrow."
"Wait, what did you just say?" Kanna froze. "Why is Cho at St. Mungo’s? I thought she and her family left Britain?"
"What, I never told you?" Cedric blinked.
"No, you didn’t," everyone else said in unison.
"Oh. Well," Cedric shrugged again, "that was the plan at first, but later Cho’s parents changed their minds and decided to stay."
"But I don’t remember seeing her at Hogwarts," George muttered. "Did I just miss her?"
"No, Cho never came to Hogwarts," Cedric explained. "When the battle at Hogwarts broke out, Minister Bones launched a simultaneous attack on the traitors in the Ministry. Cho and her mother happened to be there on some business."
"I see," Kyle said with a nod. That did explain the Ministry’s delayed involvement at the start of the battle.
"How’s Cho doing?" Kanna asked, clearly concerned.
"She’s fine," Cedric said, shaking his head. "It’s her mum who was injured. After that, Minister Bones had Cho stay at the Ministry to take care of her."
"Can we go visit her?"
"If you want to, of course."